Joie de Vivre
by littlelarciel
Summary: "Life is imperfect. It's difficult, painful, cruel, and unforgiving, but oh so beautiful." Jack-centric, Jack/Cinque/Trey. Inspired by the Amélie soundtrack by Yann Tiersen.
1. On the Humble Beginnings of Optimism

**Disclaimer:** _Final Fantasy Type-0_ belongs to Square-Enix. _Amélie_'s soundtrack belongs to Yann Tiersen. This is a fanmade work created for fan purposes and to be enjoyed among the fans.

_Song for this chapter: "__J'y suis jamais allé_" by Yann Tiersen.

* * *

_Chapter 1: On the Humble Beginnings of Optimism_

If there ever was a piece of advice I'd want you to remember for life, it would be, without a doubt, "_Easier said than done._" Also known as "nothing is what it seems," "expecations are different from reality," all that shebang. Coming from the de facto class joker, this idiom applies to me a lot. The typical role of a joker is to make a fool of yourself for the happiness of others. But somewhere along the way, I got a promotion – to optimist. So instead of Jack the Idiot Clown, I became Jack the Motivating Cheeryupper, ensuring happiness anywhere I'd go to anyone I'd see!

That said, I think I speak for all optimists when I say that "_Easier said than done_" is our creed to live by. Normally, optimists are frowned upon for being too hopeful and cheerful and just so idealistic – _but what's wrong with being positive?_ People these days are just letting their problems seem a lot heavier than they should, and too unnecessarily. If only they realize nothing is impossible and that every problem has a solution, then they can achieve anything! It's as simple as that!

But...do we optimists actually understand the weight (or weightlessness) of our words? Do we actually understand the pain people go through? Or do we just say things like "It's okay! Cheer up! You'll be just fine!" because we think people can just perk up and shrug off their burdens like it's no big deal?

Hence the creed, "_Easier said than done._" Don't worry, I learned my lesson the hard way. And that hard way is gonna be the story I'm about to tell you. Here's the catch – if we optimists can have so much positivity, more than the usual, then you can expect us to have just as much negativity, also more than the usual. Being super idealistic, we're often so lost in our dreams that when reality comes back to bite us, we're never ready. We're never ready for the truth or the consequences. The only things that keep us going are a bunch of starry-eyed hopes and promises, and you can't get through life on that alone!

So on a personal note, I'd like to say that even before this all happened, it already _was_ difficult for me to get through trials thrown in my way. I'm a "forgive and forget" kind of person, so no matter how many tests I get low marks on, or how many times I get caught sleeping in class, I just never learn. How can I learn from my mistakes if I don't even remember they happened?

But, cue in the one shining exception. We call it _love_. Because being in love, as I can truthfully testify to you now, is "_easier said than done_."

* * *

_Welcome to a Jack fic...inspired by France. The basis for this fic is the entire 20-track soundtrack for _Amélie _by Yann Tiersen. As such, each chapter is themed around a certain song based on its track number, which is announced at the start of the passage. Listening to the soundtrack is highly recommended, as it will give some direction as to where this fic's going. However, it's also perfectly okay to read the fic standalone without the music. No spoilers for the film. This fic only takes after the soundtrack and draws on from there. Thank you, and enjoy reading. Cheers!_


	2. Just Another Ordinary Day, I'd Say

**Disclaimer:** _Final Fantasy Type-0_ belongs to Square-Enix. _Amélie_'s soundtrack belongs to Yann Tiersen. This is a fanmade work created for fan purposes and to be enjoyed among the fans.

_Song for this chapter: "Les Jours tristes (Instrumental)" by Yann Tiersen._

_No bloody war-torn gore in this story. This'll be a nice little school drama that takes place in the happily-ever-after timeline! So let's pretend that all the scenes in the alternate ending took place on the same day..._

* * *

_Chapter 2: Just Another Ordinary Day, I'd Say_

Without further ado, let my story begin!

T'was the season of summer, in which our days were filled with blue skies, blazing sunshine, singing birds, and endless heat. Thank goodness for short sleeves! It was a time where you truly felt the thrill of living freely, and with everyone in high spirits, _that_ was the time when you felt you could take on the world.

Academics, though, weren't any different. If anything, it was even _harder_ to focus on schoolwork during the summer! Picture this – it was a beautiful sunny day outside and instead, we were cooped up in a classroom for seven hours doing _ugh_- boring stuff. Fortunately, I wasn't alone on this opinion! Anyone who was not Ace, or Queen, or King, or Eight...or Rem...or Seven...or Deuce. Or any of the studious people! Nine, Cater, and Sice would've definitely agreed with me, getting through school was the worst thing ever! Hey, we may be toted as the elite Class Zero, but that doesn't mean we're so saintly perfect either. (After all, we're just a bunch of kids with weapons...)

Anyhow, after those seven hours of torture were over, class was dismissed and everyone scattered off to do what they pleased. I, however, had to stay behind and carry out my prestigious duty as _janitor_ for one hour. All because I was caught sleeping in class again. Fabulous! So thanks to that, I had kept Trey and King waiting before we could properly go to band practice. By the time I caught up with them, though, King had managed to convince Trey to skip practice and go out to eat instead. Very fabulous! I had the option of joining them, but after slaving to get the classroom cleaned only to find that they gave up waiting to practice with me, I decided I had enough trouble for one day and wandered off on my own. It was too long since good ol' Jack had some quality R&R time to himself!

So I decided to visit the arena, arguably my favorite go-to spot in the entire school. I loved training, I loved practicing katana strikes and just aiming to become faster and stronger. What I lacked in booksmarts, I definitely made up for in combat skills, and let's face it, what self-respecting fighter _wouldn't_ be proud of his prowess on the battlefield? The arena was a haven for all of the Peristylium's students to help achieve that.

It was also a haven for a certain loud-mouthed dragoon to express his incredibly violent rage.

I walked into the main area and immediately recognized Nine, who was caught up in running forward, hollering loudly, and hurling a spear halfway across the field. He had just finished his most recent throw and was bending down, trying to catch his breath but instead choking back sobs. A complete mess. (Queen would've wanted to see this.)

Seeing that no one else was present, I could only assume Nine rented out the place early and I wouldn't be getting any blade practice done today. I could find out what was bothering him though.

"Nine! You okay?" I called out, running over to meet the guy. Instantly, he turned around.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, DAMMIT! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Startling, but it didn't send me scurrying.

"Save it for someone you really don't like!" I laughed. "And I doubt I'm one of them!"

"_Don't like!_ You mean that stupid Iza- AAAHHH!"

I knew Nine couldn't hold a bitter grudge against his classmates, but then he stumbled and fell to the ground on one knee, clutching his arm in pain. I quickly went over and tried to get him to lean on me for support. Nine was definitely exhausted from the way his body crumpled to the ground. Yet he still had the energy to try and push me away.

"Tch! Let go, Jack, I'm all right! You're making it hurt even more, dammit!"

"Nine, you need to calm down!" I held my own pretty well as I wrestled his free arm over my head and around my shoulder. "How long were you even at this?"

"Twelfth spear," He grumbled, almost as if he didn't want to say it aloud. "And I'm still pissed."

The far end of the field was still very far, _literally_, but I pretended to visualize that pile of elongated sticks all scattered in random places, and then I showed my concern.

"Twelve spears, huh, is that your new record? You're gonna have to give it a rest, though, if you want your shoulder-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY SHOULDER, JACK!" Nine's rage resurfaced for one last mighty holler, though I noticed his voice was cracking. "But I DO care that that stupid Iz- Iza- _Iza-!_"

Nine would choke on his own spit before he'd get that name out in full – _Izana_. Now I finally realized what was sending the poor dragoon into a deep pit of frustration. Recently, word quickly spread that the famed and beautiful Miss Emina was now seeing someone. Up till then, the entire male youth population were head-over-heels attracted to her, Nine included. To put it simply, Izana Kunagiri had achieved what no other fanboy could, making him a man of both admiration and deep-seated jealousy.

Well, it wasn't like I had a chance with Miss Emina anyway, so I gladly stepped aside and enjoyed the show from afar. But Nine was infamous for crushing on our teacher too hard. He was taking it pretty badly.

That's where I stepped in, right?

"Oh, Nine, game over! Such a shame! Don't worry, I'm sure things'll all get bet-"

"Ya think it's gonna get better for me, _oi_!" He snapped, and as he said this, he stood up, instantly shooting like a rocket and abruptly pulling me up on my feet. Somehow, he twisted his arm free from my shoulder and was now gripping me by the scarf of my cape. "Then tell me, in what position are ya to tell me things'll get better? Ya ever been _rejected_ by someone ya love? Oi? Have ya? Ya wanna know what it's like!"

"No, no!" I flailed, flabbergasted at Nine's barrage of questions. "No, Nine, Nine! Maybe you're right! You _are_ right! I don't wanna know what it's like! I'm sorry, Nine! Forget I even said anything!"

I may have had wit, but Nine rivaled King in sarcasm. The dragoon allowed a moment to let his anger sink in, then he let go of my scarf. _This guy's emotions are on a roll!_ Without saying another word, Nine turned around and began heading for the exit, his free arm returning to clutch his injured arm.

"Heh, if anything, Nine," I called out. "I wouldn't want you to have dislocated your shoulder out of something silly like heartbreak! That'd be foolish, you know!"

Nine suddenly stopped walking. After staying put for a few moments, he gave a dry laugh before turning around to face me, now with that signature grin of his plastered on.

"Hear me out, Jack. If _you_ were in my situation...you'd act this way too."

There was no hint of anger or sarcasm in Nine's tone. For once, he was actually being serious? This was something I couldn't miss out on.

"Not that I _want_ you to be in my situation, but lemme just tell you now! One day, love's gonna hit you _smack in the face_, and you won't know when, where, how, or even _why_. You can't just ignore it or shrug it away, heck, you're not gonna have any control over it at all! All you can do is just go with whatever your heart tells you, and believe me, your heart's gonna make some _very_ stupid decisions for the sake of love! If you're lucky, then good for you! But if not, you're gonna end up in rock bottom like _me!_"

Ouch, the clincher. As Nine's message tried to make sense with my head, the dragoon turned around and resumed his walking. But not without giving one last brutally honest statement.

"They say love's the greatest feeling ever? It's actually one of the _worst._"

And all I could think about was just how much could I trust a heartbroken man's word.

* * *

The little visit with Nine left me feeling a lot heavier than I was when the day started. Detention, getting ditched by your friends, and then receiving a strange lecture on love? ...I had best get home before anything stranger happened. _Here's to hoping Nine didn't just give me some horrific prophecy..._

Upon entering the dorm, all was quiet. Until you noticed the poor boy lying eerily flat on his bed.

"Eight?" I reacted. "What happened to you!"

"Oh Jack! Welcome back!" Eight strained his neck to try and acknowledge me, but his head promptly fell back on the pillow. "Don't worry about me, it's just a back injury! Guess I took it too far in the arena today..."

"Uh, Eight? I was just _at_ the arena. The only person there was Nine, and he was probably there ever since dismissal."

"I-is that so? Well, I went earlier!"

"No, you were definitely in class all day..." I recalled, and then it suddenly hit me. "Eight, are you _lying_?"

"Yeah, I've been _lying on the bed_ for the past thirty minutes."

"You fibber!"

Eight only got snarky when he was covering something up. I walked over to his bed and noticed he lay completely still. If Eight couldn't move his neck or head, then he'd be staring at the ceiling for quite some time...or whoever happened to be in his direct line of vision right then and now.

You could see the fear and panic in the martial artist's eyes as he raced to come up with something to say to my face.

"Wh-what's it to you, Jack! Why do you need to know so badly!"

"Because you were fibbing!" I had this guy cornered. "You don't want anyone to know why you're injured, but _I_ can find out! Tell me!"

"It's none of your business, Jack!" Eight had to resort to gritting his teeth if he couldn't hide the maddening blush on his face.

"But _Pinocchio_! If you don't tell me the truth, then you're never gonna be a real boy~!" I put on my best impression and grinned childishly. It was just so much fun teasing this guy!

"OKAY!" Eight had to close his eyes shut if he couldn't stifle himself with a pillow. "You wanna know how I got injured! Someone _fell on me_ when she tried to jump off a ledge!"

"Who?" I prompted.

"..._Cater_!" He squeaked.

_Cater fell on top of Eight? And how!_ Immediately, I let out a squeal and scrunched up my face in the biggest grin yet. Eight must've scrunched up his face too, albeit out of pain, but then again, so was the rest of his body! (Talk about being paralyzed by fear!)

Ever since I found out my best friend had a crush on a certain short-haired magic gunner, I never stopped pestering him about it! It was like a daily habit, mention her once and see Eight flip and lose his calm facade. In fact, I just fulfilled my quota for the day! _Yay for me!_

"It's not funny, Jack..." Eight gritted his teeth. I was back in my jovial mood once more!

"No it isn't, Eight, it's _cute_! You and I, we've been combing through thick and thin for little bits and pieces of proof, but _this_? This incident takes the cake!"

My audience of one groaned in response.

"Hey, Eight, Eight, Eight, what are you griping about? You should be _excited!_ Maybe something big's gonna happen after this!"

"I don't _want_ anything big to happen! I don't even want anyone to _know_!" My friend finally realized his arm wasn't injured and was now inhaling the scent of his glove.

"Not happening in my book! Remember, Eight! Once I'm part of a cause, I won't stop until it's achieved! Love leads to happiness, after all!"

And with that, I think I just gave my friend enough mental pain to go along with the physical. _Happiness? Check._ My day was made.

Like I said, I was a person who forgave and forgot. Whenever I was sad, I'd be sad, and whenever I was happy, I'd be happy. What would the past matter, so as long as things got better and you were allowed to move on? This was how my days usually passed, and this was the kind of life I led.

I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.


End file.
